Re-Building the Church by Pastor Bill Wangelin

When Ezra and Nehemiah led the exiled

Israelites back to Jerusalem, they worked

to rebuild the holy city. Nehemiah recalls,

“I also told them about the gracious hand

of my God upon me and what the king had

said to me. They replied, ‘Let us

start rebuilding.’ So they began

this good work.”

The Church is a people – the body and bride of Christ. So

let’s be clear. The church never “closed.” When we moved

worship services from our building to our homes during

the Stay at Home Order, ministry continued – and in some

amazing ways! From services to Bible Studies, school

lessons and podcasts, the Word of God continued to be

shared, and people were able to learn, live, and share

Christ – albeit in new ways. Teachers were so committed

to learning and faith development. Marriage counseling

happened, grief booklets were mailed, prayer requests

were shared. We even had two live streamed organ

recitals and a Palm Sunday Parade. No, the church never

“closed.” We just left the building and moved off-site for

a time.

Now we are re-building the church. That means, we are

doing ministry back in the building. We are the church of

the re-formation, and as we re-set our ministries, we want

to re-tain what the Lord was teaching us, showing us, and

working in us during the months of Stay at Home church.

I truly believe God has done some amazing things these

past several months, and will continue to lead people to

the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ as we go forward. We

get to look back with gratitude on how faithful God was,

how He equipped us with the staff, technology, support,

and committed families to help get us through. We also

get to look forward with confident faith and trust.

Our Summer Preaching series is “The

Church Is…” – and I’ll give it away

already: It’s not a building. It’s a people.

We are the body of Christ – and YOU are

an important part of it. We look forward

to growing and serving with you.

We are SO EXCITED to do ministry

together again – re-building the church,

and continuing the dynamic and Spirit-

filled adventure of faith.

In this edition of Learn, Live, Share, you will see some of

the ways God was working during our time of church at

home. Stay tuned to our website and email

communications for information on our re-building

process and do this ‘good work,’ all to the glory of God.

Trusting in God’s Grace,

Pastor Bill Wangelin <><

What Is The Church? by Vicar Andrew Mussell

These past couple of months we have

all been going through a wide variety

of changes in our lives both at home

and in church. Together we’ve had to

change our worship circumstances

from in person in our sanctuary to on

our computers, TVs, or smart devices

at home. Together we’ve been experiencing the

dramatic change in learning what the Church really is.

Over the next seven weeks, June 14th through July

27th as a congregation

we will be going

through the sermon

series titled, “The

Church Is.” During this

time we will look at

different aspects of

what the church truly is

as we gather to hear

the word of God

proclaimed in midst be

that at home or, Lord

willing, in the sanctuary of Our Savior.

What is the Church? Well I’m glad you asked.

Sometimes we are stuck with the church being a

location, a building. For example, the church is Our

Savior Lutheran church located at 7910 E St. Joe Hwy,

Lansing, MI 48917. Now there is nothing wrong with

having a joy in calling Our Savior Lutheran Church and

School your Church because for many, that is where

you have been worshiping our gracious Lord and

Savior for many, many years. In all actuality though,

the Church is much larger than that. The church is the

body of believers in Christ from all corners of the

world, much like what we experienced in our

Pentecost service. It is the body of Christ, a broken

and forgiven people, that is

united in faith as one community

founded in the truth of Jesus

Christ and his sacrificial love.

As we have seen in the past

weeks and months the world is

full of broken, sinful people that

are all in need of forgiveness

that is freely given through the

work of Christ. The Church is

called to be a living light in the midst of that. It is

united in faith that has been proclaimed for many

years. As we go about our summer months, wherever

we worship, in our homes, or at our church home. We

worship as the Church because we are worshiping our

Lord and Savior Jesus, proclaiming what he has done

for us through his life, death, and resurrection.

Rocky Ground—VBS 2020 by David Wright

Almost one year ago I was hiking on a trail in Colorado with my

family. It was an extremely rocky trail with sections of it that had

several large rocks embedded in the ground, but sticking up out of

the ground so that we had to watch literally every step that we

took. Other parts of this particular trail had massive boulders that

we had to climb up – hopping from one to the next as we made

our way up the trail.

I had done some hiking in Michigan the previous few years wearing a very sturdy pair of hiking shoes. The problem

with the shoes that I had worn on the very flat and soft trails in Michigan is that the shoe was too rigid for the terrain.

I didn’t need that type of stiff sole and heavy duty overall shoe. So when we went to Colorado, I hiked in my Brooks

running shoes. These are great shoes for many things, but they are not great for hiking the extremely rocky terrain

that was on that trail in Colorado. I felt every rock on the bottom of my feet, and I wished that I had brought my

sturdier hiking shoes with me.

Certainly the year 2020 has been a “rocky” year. There have been unforeseen circumstances, difficult trials, and

unpleasant situations that all of us have gone through. Sometimes I feel like I don’t have the right mental fortitude,

abilities, or skills to deal with all that is happening. Kind of like being on a rocky trail without the correct shoes.

It is easy to become frustrated when we look at our situation, but not at our Savior. That is why this year’s online

VBS is so encouraging! The theme for the week is all about Jesus’ power!

Day 1 – Jesus’ Power Helps us do Hard Things

Day 2 – Jesus’ Power gives us Hope

Day 3 – Jesus’ Power Lets us Live Forever

These bible lessons couldn’t be more helpful for children and families this summer.

Join us via Our Savior Live Stream on July 13-15, beginning at 6:30pm each night for a special time of songs, bible

lessons, craft and games ideas, and a whole lot of energy and praise for our Savior, Jesus!

Each night we will gather for approximately 30 minutes. On Thursday, July 16, at 6:30pm we want to gather at OSL

for a vehicle parade with decorated vehicles, icy treats for everyone from the Kona Ice Truck, and a chance to

celebrate VBS 2020.

Pick up your children’s free VBS packets on Thursday, July 9th, between 6:00pm and 8:00pm at Our Savior Lutheran

Church (7910 E St Joe Hwy, Lansing) or arrange for a packet drop off at your house!

Please go to oursaviorlansing.org to register. Click on the VBS link at the top of the page. We cannot guarantee a

VBS packet for families that do not register. For questions, contact me at dwright@oursaviorlansing.org

How Have You Seen God at Work During the Pandemic?

“God is at work all the time whether you’ve stayed at home or had to leave the house

for your essential job. Each night I go to work I encounter situations that at times

seem like glaring obstacles whether it’s the emotional weight of taking care of very ill

people or the physical toll that it’s takes on my body to stay up all night and perform

my job at 110%. God has been present in every second. Every time I’ve ran to my

patient’s side when they call and tell me they can’t breathe, every tear I’ve cried out

of pure exhaustion, the times I’ve held my patient’s hands as they tell me how afraid they are to die, every time I’ve

prayed “Lord, help” as I race between rooms donning and doffing the protective gear that quite literally protects my

life, and in every moment in between, I see that God is there because He promised he would be. Where else would

He be? God’s word says that the very Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead lives in my heart and that He will never

leave me or forsake me. I’m an extension of God’s love because He is alive in me. God is here. He is the best doctor,

He is a father to the fatherless, He is the hope of the world, and He says that if you seek Him with all your heart that

you will find Him. Even when I’ve failed to seek Him during this pandemic He seeks me and He pours His love into

me. If COVID-19 has taught me anything it’s that God is here and that He is alive, more powerful than the grave and

more jealous for you than any disease.” ~ Anna Mussell, Registered Nurse

The History of Amazing Grace by Joshua Miller, Submitted for his 8th Grade Christian Studies Trimester Project

Amazing Grace is one of the most popular Christian hymns in the world. It is not only sung by

Christians but many times you can hear it being played on the radio or by non-Christians. And

whether people know the message behind it or not, it is a beautiful song, one of my grandma's

favorites. The song itself was written by a British man by the name of John Newton, a former slave

trader, which is strange because this song seems to be close with the African-

American community and culture. Newton was born in 1725. His mother died

two weeks before his seventh birthday and his father was a stern sea-captain

who took Newton out on the sea at just age eleven. After a childhood of many

sea trips and drinking he was enlisted into the British army. After an attempt to desert he

received eight dozen lashes and was demoted to the rank of common seaman.

While Newton was later serving on the Pegasus, a slave ship, Newton was left by his crew in

West Africa with another slave trader. The enterprise was taken over by John Newton’s father

who went to go look for him. During the voyage home the ship was caught in a horrible storm off

the coast of Ireland and almost sank. Newton prayed to God and the cargo miraculously shifted

to fill a hole in the ship's hull and the ship drifted to safety. Newton took this as a sign from God and marked it as his

conversion to Christianity. He did not convert and change all his ways at once but it was a more gradual conversion.

Even after all this Newton continued to do slave trading unfortunately, making a total of three voyages as the

captain of two different slave vessels. The Duke of Argyle and the African. He suffered a stroke in 1754 and then

retired, but still continued to invest in the business. In 1764, he was ordained an Anglican priest and wrote an

astonishing 280 hymns for his services. He wrote the words in 1772 of Amazing Grace, they were not put to the

common tune “New Britain” we know today until 1835 by a man named William Walker.

In 1788, he published a pamphlet called “Thoughts Upon the Slave Trade.” The book described the horrific

conditions on slave ships and Newton apologized for not making this sooner and said: “It will always be a subject of

humiliating reflection to me, that I was once an active instrument in a business at which my heart now shudders.”

The pamphlet was reprinted several times and sent to every member of Parliament. Under the command of MP

William Wilberforce, the English civil government outlawed slavery in Great Britain in 1807, and John Newton was

there to see it, but went to be with the Lord later that year.

Since the creation of the original song there have been many plays, movies and covers to the song. As I said, this is

one of the most loved or most popular if not the most popular hymns ever. You could show anyone this song and I

guarantee they have heard it at one time in their life or another.

The first and second line is talking about how amazing grace is, and it can save sinners and it can grant us passage

into Heaven and so we can be with our fellow Christians and our Heavenly Father forever. The third line is talking

about how God found us when we were lost to sin and confused and in danger. And the final line is how God gave us

sight to see what we were doing wrong and how we are sinful but also to show us the right things to do.

The second verse is talking about how God promises good things to us, but not all the time. He promises that we will

go to heaven and be with Him and that good things will happen with time. The second line is talking about how God

has secured our faith that we have hope, that there are no forever goodbyes and that we are loved and cared for by

Him. The third and fourth lines say that God will be our shield against the devil and his powers. But not against every

problem in life.

This third verse is sending one message and that is that we have been through many problems, grief, loss, bad

things, sinful things, betrayal, the whole enchilada. And that we have made it this far because of the grace of God,

and grace will lead us to heaven.

The first and second lines of verse four is about how our earthly lives are not forever and they

are temporary, but the last two lines mean that that's not the end and that we will go to heaven

to be with our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.

Amazing Grace is an amazing hymn with an amazing message and an amazing story and I love

it. It was my grandma's favorite hymn and it was played at her funeral, with the intro played with

bagpipes on the organ. This song always reminds me of her and how big of an impact on my

faith she was to me and everything she has done for me. I know that this song will be sung and

played for years to come.

Amazing Grace

Verse One:

Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound

That saved a wretch like me

I once was lost, but now am found

Was blind but now I see

Verse Two:

The Lord has promised good to me

His word my hope secures

He will my shield and portion be

As long as life endures

Verse Three:

Through many dangers, toils and snares

We have already come

T'was Grace that brought us safe thus far

And Grace will lead us home

And Grace will lead us home

Verse Four:

Yes, when this flesh and heart shall fail

And mortal life shall cease

Amazing grace shall then prevail

In heaven’s joy and peace

City Serve Update

City Serve was vastly different this year than it was in

previous years. We weren’t able to have a big day of

service where we work hard all day visibly seeing the

difference that we are making in the community of

Lansing. That wasn’t going to stop the City Serve team

however. We changed that “usual” plan and adjusted

and adapted to our ever-changing circumstances over

the past couple of months. This year the City Serve

lead team decided to make packages of food for

various organizations like Greater Lansing Food Bank

and Homeless Angels.

Our goal was to raise $1000 in cash donations so that

we could then go to stores and purchase the supplies

necessary to make these care packages. It’s was truly

astounding, and still is, when we found out that we had

been donated a grand total of $5270 which is over 5

times our original goal. With your donations we were

able to cover even more than we had originally

anticipated. It truly is a God-sighting to see everyone

come together as the hands and feet of Christ to

continue to help and support the people of Lansing

during this time of need. We thank you for all of your

support and prayers. May God continually bless and

keep you as we all learn, live, and share Christ together.

Distance Learning at Our Savior

With distance learning at Our Savior, we remained focused on

three desired outcomes for students and families during the

school building closure and Coronavirus pandemic:

-Spiritual care and support

-Building and continuing relationships

-Focusing on key essential learning (Reading, Math, Writing,

and Christian Studies) to finish the school year.

Thank you so much for the many ways our School Families

and community have jumped in to support Christian

education at home! We know this hasn't been easy. Without

your partnership, we would not have transitioned so quickly

to distance learning, and your perseverance helped us to end

the school year well. Our faculty is committed to learning and

growing from our distance learning experience to improve the in-person instruction while

remaining focused on faith and essential learning. Lutheran schools are your partner,

providing best-in-class education for the children entrusted to our care.

Ms. Mazur Leading the Way Online!

Recently, Our Savior's second grade teacher,

Ms. Tammy Mazur, was interviewed in the

Michigan District publication, Lutheran School Teachers Leading the Way

Online (https://michigandistrict.org/healthy-workers/lutheran-school-

teachers-leading-the-way-online). In the May 18th publication,

Communication Director, Jeff Heisner shared Miss Mazur's reflections,

"The classroom has changed from brick-and-mortar buildings to Zoom

conferencing. Tammy Mazur, a second grade teacher at Our Savior in

Lansing really didn’t know much about Zoom before the pandemic, but now she’s on it every day. She says, 'I am still

doing what I’m called to do, but not in the way I was called to do it.'

Creating entirely new lesson plans, recording videos, and holding video conferencing sessions has increased the

teachers’ workload during the pandemic. Mazur puts in extra hours making sure she connects and engages

her students."

Welcome Mrs. Hughes!

Our Savior Lutheran Church and School welcomes our new middle school teacher for the 2020-21

school year, Mrs. Lisa Hughes.

“I am very grateful and excited for this opportunity to serve the Lord at Our Savior Lutheran Church

and School. I love working with middle school students. My husband and I have been worshipping

remotely with OSL and are looking forward to meeting everyone and becoming involved in the

ministry here.”

Quick Facts about Mrs. Hughes

Hometown: Delta Township

Faith: Moving from Tennessee to Michigan, she will become a member of Our Savior Lutheran

Major: B.A. Interior Design at Michigan State University

Post-Graduate Studies: M.A. in Teaching K-8 at University of Memphis (TN)

Years of Teaching Experience: 20

Favorite Scripture Verse: Philippians 4:19

For my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

Favorite Subjects: Currently English Language Arts, of course!

Favorite Activities: Indoors – singing, reading, playing horn, art/design, cooking, baking

Outdoors – biking, walking, hiking, skiing, skating, visiting friends and relatives around the world

Favorite Food: just about anything!

Preventing COVID-19 Related Stress from Becoming Lasting Trauma in Young

Children

by Windy Carroll, Early Childhood Program Director

While our nation seems to be slowly returning to “normal”,

what we have experienced as a collective society is

something that most of us have never come close to

experiencing before in our lifetime. As adults, we may

have experienced various types of stress or other

emotions related to the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Maybe you know someone who was affected by the illness

directly, or even passed away from the virus. Maybe you

suffered financially or lost your job due to the government

shut down. Or, maybe you experienced some other ill

effects of being separated from friends and family

members. Anger, sadness, confusion, anxiety, fear, and

frustration are just a few of emotions that we all have faced throughout the past few months. For those with

children, you may have noticed any number of emotions or changes in personality or behaviors in your children –

and it may still be happening.

As adults, we are much better at compartmentalizing our emotions and logically thinking through the best ways to

self-soothe. Children, however, are much less skilled in social-emotional wellness and self-regulation, so they lean

on adult caregivers to help them process their emotional load. Many times, a young child may exhibit new or

challenging behaviors due to emotional stress and have absolutely no idea how to identify and describe how they

are feeling. As a parent, that may leave you feeling lost, frustrated, or even angry with your child. So how can we help

children with their “big emotions” related to COVID-19, the sudden and early end to the school year, and the many

disappointments they likely have faced with the loss of contact with friends, family, and cancelation of events? The

most important thing we can do is to listen to them, talk to them, and reassure them.

The CDC suggests, in their article “Talking with Children about Coronavirus Disease 2019” (https://www.cdc.gov/

coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/talking-with-children.html), that parents try the following tips: 1) Remain

calm with your children and avoid overreacting to children’s thoughts, questions, or behaviors. 2) Reassure children

that they are safe and share with them some of your own coping mechanisms that help you to deal with stress. 3)

Make yourself available to listen and talk. 4) Avoid “blame” language. 5) Pay attention to what your children see and

hear via all types of media and limit the amount of information they are exposed to related to COVID-19. 6) Provide

information that is truthful and age-appropriate. 7) Teach children everyday actions they can take to keep

themselves safe (like proper handwashing). With these tips, parents can arm children with support, empower them

to help care for themselves, and reassure them that you are there to protect them, listen to them, and answer their

questions.

Here at Our Savior, we know that our students and families (along with all schools in

Michigan) experienced the trauma of a sudden end to our school year and the

disappointment for some of the cancelation of Panther Camp for summer 2020. For

those affected, these events were likely stress-inducing for children and parents alike.

But, we are blessed to be a community of believers that can lean on Jesus and the

Gospel. Throughout the pandemic,

teachers across our school focused on

providing devotions and resources to

students and families though at-home

learning. This is because we know that

Jesus is the ultimate healer and can be

that measure of comfort for children

that helps prevent toxic stress from

becoming long-term trauma. Praying

with children and reading Bible verses and stories, along with

some of the tips above can be an immense source of strength and

solace for children experiencing stress or anxiety. Indeed,

“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.”

Psalm 46:1.

Quarterly Newsletter ● Summer 2020

Our Savior Lutheran Church and School

7910 E. St. Joe Hwy

Lansing, MI 48917

7910 E. St. Joe Hwy, Lansing, MI 48917 www.oursaviorlansing.org

Our Savior Lutheran Church and School

Church & School

517-882-8665

Worship Times Sunday: 9:30am through July 5

Beginning July 12

Sundays in Person or Online at 8:30 & 10:30am

Mondays in Person at 7pm

NONPROFIT

U.S. POSTAGE

PAID

MAILED FROM ZIP CODE 48837

PERMIT NO. 3

June 21 Communion Services at 5 & 7pm

Registration link in your email

23 Congregation Meeting at 7pm

In person or online

July

12 Welcome Back Sunday

Worship in Person or Online

at 8:30 or 10:30am

13 Monday Worship in Person at 7pm

13-15 VBS Online at 6:30pm

16 VBS Celebration at 6:30pm

In OSL Parking Lot

26 Farewell to Vicar Mussell

Summer at Our Savior

WELCOME BACK SUNDAY Sunday, July 12th

In Person or Online: 8:30 & 10:30am In Person only: Monday, July 13 at 7pm